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Sunday, July 22, 2012

5'4 Ice Cream fish (classic twin), owned and ripped by mr.Michael Kew, if you're interested send me a note at ryankentlovelace@gmail.com, asking $250 obo. Color is spray paint and can be removed; for $50 I'll even do it myself if you want; fins are lokbox:

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

When I left australia this summer I had to ditch my trustiest surfboard, Siddartha (my original yellow v.Bowls), due to a $350 board bag fee that I juuuust couldn't swallow. I knew i'd have to replace it as I can't be without a v.Bowls, its just wrong; Yesterday I cashed in my chips and finished up the new 8'er i've been waiting for. I went for the roundpin this time, though. After shaping so many of them in NJ and France last month I couldn't resist; it's unquestionably the best tail template for Santa Barbara and the curves just look oh so right meshed with the widepoint-backness of the v.B.

I've been getting pelted with emails with orders for v.Bowls for the past few months and the reviews keep pouring in; I've heard many times now that people struggled the first handful of sessions until they stopped trying to ride it like a hull, and stepped back on the board; THATS the key to most of my shapes. Work them from the wide-point; I foil all of my boards in a very specific balance that puts all of the speed and control around the widepoint.

So if you've got a v.Bowls and you're figuring it out, take a step back and hang on...

"...Then, about a month ago, while enjoying a family day at the beach, I

took a break from building sand castles and paddled out. For whatever

reason, I found myself standing a little bit further back than I had

previously, and the thing just took off. It set itself in effortless

trim and glided through and arround sections just like I'd wanted from

the beginning. Turns and cutbacks are dreamlike. I have since

ridden it almost exclusively (except one day when my arms were just

too tired from a previous V.bowls session, and I could only paddle the

Thursday, July 12, 2012

I kicked off a bucket of resin too hot while in a hurry and left the cup on the board. That board was the first She Hull and would in the next few weeks make a total shift in the rhyme and reason behind my work and it's execution.
The cup delaminated a 4" circle on the bottom of the board, where the resin had heated up and melted the cup to the board. I panicked and called Kyle Lightner, I was fuming and a bit concerned for the board we were to share. He told me to let it happen as it was happening and trust myself in the process;
I removed the delaminated circle of glass leaving a white hole just above and to the side of the fin-box on the deep navy blue blade that was nearly complete. I signed my name and wrote the date inside the white circle, glassed over it quickly with UV resin and was on my way in a host of different directions, on a singular path.

I don't claim to be any kind of force in the surf industry; hell I don't even want to be a part of it, but I guess a lot of people are paying attention lately. I didn't invent the circle. I didn't create abstract theory. I didn't revolutionize the logo. But it's hard to not notice the glut of resin circles being used as logos now; to a certain extent I don't mind. I can't claim the circle as a logo, but I will claim it as my inspiration and my constant reminder of what and why I'm doing what I'm doing; and it's become my brand. If you can find an example of a resin dot on a board pre-2009, let me know, but I sure as shit haven't ever seen one so when it's blatantly copied I really only ask one thing; Know what you're copying. If you believe that your boards are momentary and products of a spark of curiosity and drive, then go for it, put what I consider my logo on your board and put your name on top of it.

I've seen piles of copies, from people near and removed from my work. I've even seen EXACT copies, signed in there and everything, the same placement, the same size. I've seen them all over the industry and locally now, too. Its getting under my skin a bit now so I wanted to put it out there, the full story of the resin dot and why it's there on every board that I build. If you feel so compelled, the story is here to read in rather excruciating detail...Take it in and then apply it if you're going to continue using something so close to my heart. Put that circle on the bottom of your board, just above the fin, and remember every time you look at it why its there and how it happened. Its a good feeling, just make it for the right reason, its more than a compositional dot to the people involved in it's origins.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Writing is good, thinking is better. Being smart is good,
being patient is better.

8'10" x 23 3/4" x 3"

Foiled to the moon, flat deck with a heavy rolled vee bottom; She's inspired 100% by a particular McTavish Keyo that Matty Chojnacki had in our apartment in Noosa a few months ago. The board had all of the curves that I've been obsessed with for the past few years, but exploded and exaggerated; a truly refined vee bottom longboard that was one of the last of its kind, before the shortboard revolution took hold likely a few months after it was shaped.

I've been shaping a handful of these through my travels this summer in australia and europe, and when I got home a few days ago I decided it was high time people hack here in Santa Barbara see what's been getting me so fired up lately.

This one in particular is glassed with a double 6oz bottom and double 6oz deck, plus a 10oz volan patch. I used Reichold ISO Marine resin for the lamination, I haven't felt a more balanced board in along time; the 10.5" flex fin is a complete deal-sealer for me; riding it feels connected and smooth...The relationship between the bottom curves and the fin feel seamless to me and I can't wait to get it back in the water after our first go-out yesterday!

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Welp, here I am, back in Santa Barbara county! Floating in a haze of June (july?) gloom, jetlag, phone calls and emails, Herbie hugs and once more, foam dust...life doesn't get much more satisfying!
I wanted to send out a HUGE thank you to everyone who keeps making this dream of mine a reality.

I must be the luckiest guy I know, because I really can't imagine how it could get much better. The past month took me through Italy, France and Belgium in a rather foam-covered fashion, I was well cared for by all and I'm floored with the response that my work is getting around the world, what a blessing.

I ended up with a total count of 29 surfboards shaped, and one Flex Spoon built start to finish; JB, Clovis and the crew in/around Wallako Surf Shop in Bidart and Biarritz did a ridiculous job of putting me up and making sure I had enough chocolate croissants and espresso in me at all times to power through all those boards in the two weeks I had there to work. Axel and the Alaia Religion gang in Rome showed me a great time and set me up with some good energy to start off my trip. Mr.Thomas Cravarezza and Filippo Orso got me into some mediterranean waves and gave me some good down-time to kick off the heavy Flu that I was battling for the previous two weeks.
And lastly but most definitely not least, the talented Angelo de Meulenaere in Belgium, who offered me an amazing setting to relax and soak in a new country after my marathon shaping session in France...the guys there are unreal, I always love meeting surf-starved surfers because they froth SO much harder on what many of us take for granted (though I did see a few photos of some outrageously good waves along their coastline...just saying...).
Angelo is doing some killer work up there all by himself...a pure product of the wonderful things sharing your work and passions on the internet and through travels can provide, Flow & Soul Surfboards is off to a great start, here are the boards he was working on while I passed through for my last week:

and what better way to end a trip through europe than the man, himself...a true vision to behold while waiting for a plane in Brussels...yep, this is reality:

I am lucky. I am very grateful, and I will do my best to continue to share my passions with everyone and anyone interested in asking me or offering me an opportunity to express them. An overwhelmingly deep thank you to everyone who helped me along my way through Europe over the past month. I can't wait to see what comes in the near future; And until then, and in the meantime, I'll work on some more surfboards to freak you out with next year...

INSTAGRAM'd! <--- Click it to see my Instagram feed which if you ask me, is pretty okay.

Electronic Mail/About/WTF's?!?!:

...eeeemail me if you'd like:

lovelacesurfcraft@gmail.com

my name is Ryan Lovelace and this'd be my blog, created and maintained for the purpose of sharing my work in and around surfboards. My main website is above, but herein lies about 5 ears of blog postings, dating to the wayback ages.